As second semester rolls around to fruition, I remember all the resolutions and promises I made to myself at the beginning of this year. The endless lists of “to-do’s” that have sadly been tucked away into the little crevices of my desk or at the bottom of those ceaseless college mailers. With each passing day they have disappeared farther until it has only become a sheet of paper among the thousands of others that litter my life. But as the New Year crashes in head on, I am reminded of everything I had vowed to accomplish this year, and those lists rise again to the forefront of my mind, and I use them as a guide of sorts to develop new resolutions for this entire year.
One resolution that I had sorely ignored last semester was to attend more sporting events. Professional, semi-professional or high school. Any and all sporting events. Obviously I had been struggling finding times and opportunities to attend any sort of event due to my ridiculously busy swimming and school schedules. Coming back to start this last semester of high school, I realized that the excuse “I’m too tired,” is not only lame, but is one of the biggest copouts ever.
Choosing a different outlook on how I feel and how it should affect what I do is the biggest change I can ultimately make. Just days after making this resolved decision on my own, I was invited by a dear friend to attend an Eagles hockey game. And me, a girl who lives up to my commitments (at least at the beginning), literally jumped on the opportunity. Like seriously, I might have been a little too excited that my friend extended this invitation.
I would classify myself as a sports enthusiast. Some of my fondest memories of childhood come from baseball fields and football stadiums. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself deeply attached to professional league sports and I find them not only insanely intriguing but inspiring as well. My family was the type of family that watched baseball, football and basketball and not a whole lot else, unless it was on the Olympics. Now at the stage of life that I am at, I have decided that maybe I should branch out and see what sports truly click with me. Having never been to a hockey game before going to an Eagles game was the equivalent of the night before Christmas, full of suspense and wonderment. Boy was I wrong. The game was so informational and I learned so much about hockey and what the game truly entails, but hockey is such a weird sport. Its aggressive nature and the rowdy fans that seem to attend made me almost disgusted with the game. Yet, the night was a total upset; I became mesmerized by these men’s ability to so gracefully and with so much ease navigate on a sheet of sheer ice. I’ve actually tried ice skating and it doesn’t matter how many times I do it, I always fall, and I fall hard, and ice does not really have any give.
The experience was valuable, because I learned that I really don’t need to go to a hockey game again. Surprisingly though, this week I was also invited to go the Fossil Ridge High School boys’ basketball game, and I set a record for myself of attending two sporting events in one week! The FRHS team is ranked sixth in nation right now, and the game was against our in town rival so it was a pretty big deal. Now basketball is one sport I can seriously get into. It’s really interesting because I can’t stand watching basketball on the TV, but when it comes to live sports basketball is one of my most favorite sports to watch. There is just an atmosphere when it comes to a basketball court, and when you are there sitting in the crowd watching these guys run up and down the court effortlessly dribbling and shooting this basketball it just amazes me.
What is the most important take away from both of these experiences? Sometimes it just takes a little bit of commitment and risk in order to be involved in those things that truly bring you joy, and frankly, I only have less than five months left and I might as well milk it for all its got.
